The largest district of Cherkasy region combines the regional centre on the Dnipro, Shevchenko’s Kaniv, the hetman capital of Chyhyryn and the forests of Kholodnyi Yar. It is easy to plan a route here for one day or for several.
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Cherkasy District — Kaniv, Chyhyryn, Kholodnyi Yar and the Banks of the Dnipro
The Largest District of Cherkasy Region
Cherkasy district was formed in 2020. It is the largest in the region by both area and population: it includes 26 territorial communities, and its administrative centre is the city of Cherkasy. Other towns of the district include Smila, Kaniv, Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, Horodyshche, Kamianka and Chyhyryn.
Kaniv and Taras Hill
Kaniv is one of the main destinations for admirers of Taras Shevchenko. The poet is buried on Taras (Chernecha) Hill above the Dnipro, where the Shevchenko National Reserve operates. The town has preserved the 12th-century Assumption Cathedral, and nearby is the Kaniv Nature Reserve with its picturesque hills above the Dnipro.
Chyhyryn, Subotiv and Kholodnyi Yar
Chyhyryn was the hetman capital in the time of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. Today it is home to the Chyhyryn National Historical and Cultural Reserve, and Castle Hill offers a wide view of the Tiasmyn valley. In neighbouring Subotiv stands the St. Elijah Church built by Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.
Nearby stretches the Kholodnyi Yar forest — a land associated with the 18th-century haidamaka movement and the Kholodnyi Yar Republic of 1919–1922. In 2022 the Kholodnyi Yar National Nature Park was established here.
The Dnipro, Forests and Protected Nature
Cherkasy stands on the shore of the Kremenchuk Reservoir: take a walk along the embankment and through the pine forest of Sosnivka. Near the city lies the Bilozirskyi National Nature Park. Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi attracts visitors with its park on the Ros river and a historical and cultural reserve, while Kamianka is known for a reserve associated with Alexander Pushkin and Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
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Frequently Asked Questions
For one day it is convenient to choose one direction: Kaniv (Taras Hill, the Assumption Cathedral, the Dnipro embankment), Chyhyryn with Subotiv, or Cherkasy with its embankment and Sosnivka. It is better to set aside a separate day for Kholodnyi Yar — it is a large forest with hiking trails.
Taras Shevchenko is buried in Kaniv on Taras (Chernecha) Hill above the Dnipro. The Shevchenko National Reserve operates here, including the poet’s grave and a literary memorial museum.
Kholodnyi Yar is a large forest between Chyhyryn and Kamianka. It is known as a centre of the 18th-century haidamaka movement and of the Kholodnyi Yar Republic of 1919–1922. Since 2022 the Kholodnyi Yar National Nature Park has operated here.
The district is home to the Kaniv Nature Reserve, the Bilozirskyi and Kholodnyi Yar national nature parks, and the pine forests of Sosnivka on the outskirts of Cherkasy.
Cherkasy district includes 26 territorial communities. The largest towns are Cherkasy, Smila, Kaniv, Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, Horodyshche, Kamianka and Chyhyryn.
By car — about 200 km via Zolotonosha. Trains and buses run between Kyiv and Cherkasy; check the current train timetable on the Ukrzaliznytsia website.